Why it works: Rice and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the pudding base
In a farina kettle, combine rice and 1 quart of milk. Cook on low heat until thick.
Add 2 cups of milk and sugar. Stir to combine.
Bake
Transfer the mixture to a pudding dish and cover it tightly.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven, stirring occasionally.
When nearly set, remove the cover and continue baking until fully set.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Starch that thickens the milk as it cooks, giving the pudding its body.
- Milk
- Liquid that the rice absorbs and cooks in, providing the pudding's creamy base.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and contributes to the pudding's flavor.
The step that matters
Cooking the rice on low heat until thick. Low heat and frequent attention keep milk from scorching on the bottom of the pan while the rice softens and thickens. Starch in the rice gelatinizes as it absorbs liquid, so the mixture needs time to reach a thick texture before it goes into the oven.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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